


Lean on me

by kitlee625



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Gen, Season 1, philinda bad days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4535559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When May has been pushing herself to her limits to protect Coulson and the team, she finds some unexpected comfort in return.<br/>Written for Philinda Bad Days. Prompt - “Melinda pulls a muscle.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lean on me

**Author's Note:**

> Set midway through season 1. The idea of Coulson and May eating Pop Tarts at the Academy is borrowed from the lovely ddagent, with permission. The title is from the song “Lean on me” by Bill Withers.

Melinda May is used to a working through all kinds of minor injuries. It comes with the territory, and over the years, she has learned when to push through the pain and when to stop and give herself time to heal. However, since coming back into the field, it has been harder for her to know just where that line is. She tells herself that it is just that she is out of practice, but it is more than that. Before she had been motivated by her duty as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but now it is her duty to Coulson that sends her out into the field. Already that has escalated from just driving the bus to full field duty, and truthfully, there is nothing that she would not do to protect him.

So she pushes any doubts about her mission out of her mind and ignores the steady buildup of injuries until one morning when she wakes up and finds that she cannot even roll over in bed without every muscle in her body protesting. She sighs and stares up at the ceiling, taking inventory of all of her aches and pains. There is nothing too serious, certainly nothing that requires immediate medical attention, but she has an impressive assortment of deep bruises and pulled muscles.

Gingerly she gets out of bed and dresses. It is early enough that the bus is completely quiet, which is how she prefers it. In a few hours, the rest of the team will be awake, but for now at least, she has the space to herself, and she relishes the solitude. She goes down to the cargo hold for her usual morning tai chi. Even though her body is sore, experience tells her that she will feel better afterwards.

She has only gotten a few minutes into her routine when Coulson walks in carrying a cup of coffee. Despite the early hour, he is completely alert, and gives her a smile, which she ignores. She has always enjoyed her privacy and hated interruptions, though Coulson is one of the few she secretly likes to have interrupt her. But ignoring him is her way of trying to maintain at least some distance between them. It makes it easier to keep so many secrets from him.

He does not appear to mind her ignoring him, sipping his coffee in companionable silence. But when a pulled calf muscle causes her to lose her balance momentarily, he frowns. “Are you okay?”

She gives him a look, trying to convey with her eyes that he does not need to worry about her, but he does not look reassured.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard, May. You shouldn’t have gone after that guy all by yourself.” She glares at him, and he corrects himself. “I mean, I know that you can do yourself. We all know that. But you don’t have to.”

She looks away. He may believe that, but she knows it is not true. She is the only one who knows the true purpose of the team, and the only one who knows enough to protect him. It is why she came out of her self-imposed retirement, why she puts herself on the line day after day. There is no one else she can rely on.

Coulson stands there a few more minutes, but he finally leaves under the weight of her continued silence. She thinks that will be the end of that, but as she finishes up tai chi, she is surprised to see him return, this time carrying a tray with a mug of tea, an ice pack, and a packet of strawberry Pop Tarts.

It is just like the old days, so much so that she feels a rush of emotion. He has always looked out for her, even when they were back at the academy. She remembers him sneaking things back into the dorm for her -- ice packs after a particularly difficult hand-to-hand combat class, magazines when she was sick with the flu, and strawberry Pop Tarts whenever she needed a little extra cheering up.

He smiles at her. “We’re a team. We support each other.”

More that the items, the fact that he is still looking out for her touches her deeply. This time she returns his smile. Even if she cannot share the truth about her mission, he is right. She is not in this alone as long as she has him by her side.


End file.
